Capitol Peak

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/31/2017, By: emcee smith
Info: As of last Thursday, there was a dead cow on the ditch trail about 1/4 - 1/2 mile from the parking lot. By Saturday on the way out, it was smelling pretty ripe.

Over the saddle, there is still quite a bit of snow to cross, beginning with some in the bottom of the gully if dropping low and early into the basin. It may be possible to completely avoid the snow if one were careful, it would seem you could zig zag through the basin and then ascend toward the ridge on the right a bit earlier than standard. The is quite a bit of snow if on the standard route, right at the "corner" in the basin.

We had spikes and poles and felt comfortable on the snow. For some of the crossings lower in the basin, we didn't have spikes on.

No snow on the K2 bypass. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/23/2017, By: Beas
Info: Both the ditch trail and Capitol Creek trail were muddy after Friday's rain. Microspikes would still be helpful to bring, as there are some snowfields to traverse between the saddle and K2. I managed a short glissade or two on the way down. Other than that, Cap is in summer condition. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/17/2017, By: windwaker
Info: Took the Capitol Creek Trail (Not the Ditch). We started a little after 0300 at the trail head. We took the Creek Trail and not the Ditch because the Ditch trail head is not that easy to find in the dark. There were still a TON of cows on the trail. They use the trail to travel which made it muddy, very uneven, and their social trails made the actual trail difficult to stick to at times. We took it slow during these sections to make sure we didn't make mistakes. (We saw the Ditch trail on the way back out where it connects. There is not a great way across the creek, which means you have to get wet, and the exit on the other side to reconnect with the Creek Trail is VERY deep mud). Sunrise was welcomed at the base of the switchbacks below the lake. Hit the lake at about 545am and hung out to get some food, and water.
Ascent to the saddle made for quick easy work on the well defined trail. After the saddle there is more snow than previous trip reports lead on. We did not have any traction or ice axes, and ran into several groups who turned around because of this. We were more then comfortable with snow fields so proceeded. There were (3) "major" fields we had to cross, mixed bag of about 27 degree to (1) 45 degree snow field. Anywhere from a quick 100 ft across to about 1/2 mile on the last one to K2. I thought the snow was much easier than the rock scramble on the way back to get to K2. If you are not comfortable on snow would HIGHLY recommend traction and an ice axe for the next few weeks at least.

K2 was easier to go over than around (as far as stable rocks). We did the summit on the way up went around on the way back. Both passable, but the summit felt better. We hit the Knife edge at about 9am and had to wait about 20 minutes for a group that was descending to come back over. There is plenty of loose rock, and this made for slower than we would have liked travel, between waiting for groups to down climb past us, and making sure we weren't kicking anything down. All around the route is easy to stay on, there are plenty of carins, but there is some room for error as we saw several go too low to dirt patches that at first glance appeared to be trail. Took the ridge proper up the last 100-150ft to the summit because it had more solid rock. Summited at about 1030am and then had an uneventful down climb. Back out to the car at 4pm after the 500ft climb back up (which felt great after 5300ft of down climb!)

Side note the bugs are pretty relentless in the daylight bring deterrent! 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/17/2017, By: cochsman
Info: Hiked to the lake on Saturday. Left the tent at 4am. Smooth sailing up to the saddle. Snowfields are bigger than I thought but the wife and I managed with just microspikes and poles. We brought axes but never took them off of our bags. The snow was softer than I would expect at sunrise, and of course was softer on the return. Other than the backside snowfields, summer conditions everywhere. Very fun route and the knife edge was a breeze for those comfy with exposure. My wife is not and she had a meltdown but got her sh*t together and cruised it. The rock is decent but also lots of lose stuff exists. Bring a helmet, follow cairns, take your time. Great mountain! 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/15/2017, By: JaredJohnson
Info: Same as previous reports -- traction and axe required for the standard route, snow approx. from Daly saddle to K2 -- if you haven't been there, that's a long way, longer than it looks in the pics. This was my first time but I'm guessing with the right equipment, the snow was much easier and quicker than the talus underneath would have been.

If you want to avoid the snow you could turn right at the Daly saddle and take the dry class 4 Ridge Direct route to K2. I saw one guy off the ridge without traction who managed it by climbing cliffs below the ridge to traverse less snow, but much steeper, which seemed extremely unwise. Just get some gear!

Speaking of unwise, for any other first-timers, retracing the last section from the summit is very confusing, be careful not to get yourself stuck on a loose ledge like I did, spending 5 minutes on a short 5th-class downclimb picking out the solid holds and praying :) 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/10/2017, By: timashurst
Info: An echo of what everyone else has said, just thought I'd throw a couple of pictures up. Dry except between Daly saddle and K2. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/9/2017, By: lconnelly126705
Info: Route is in summer conditions mostly. Traction recommended to get from Daly-K2 saddle to summit of K2. Rest of the route is snow free. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/7/2017, By: benglish
Info: A few short, easy snow crossings on the way to the lake.
Dry to the Daly saddle. Continuous firm, sun-cupped snow from the saddle to just below K2. Dry summer conditions to the summit. I was happy to have microspikes and an axe on the snow. Low top approach shoes were sufficient. GREAT ROUTE! 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/5/2017, By: Amgdharper
Info: Hiker below is totally accurate. Trail up to Capitol Lake is great. Bring bug spray. Snow sporadically closer to the lake. Camp sites are dry. Trail headed up to the saddle is dry. Other side of the saddle is covered in snow. Bring your ax and crampons. August would probably be a great time to hike without them. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/2/2017, By: The_Flex
Info: There is many snow drifts still left on the approach to Capitol Lake, but none are difficult to cross. The path up to the saddle was very well built, so thanks to whoever worked on that. On the other side of the saddle, I got stopped by the heave snow. It is hard and steep. Some people were able to cross it with crampons and ax. Starts out with chutes of snow to cross, then most everything after that is still covered. Probably be cleared out enough in August... 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/11/2016, By: pianoz
Info: Great day! hiked in Friday, camped up by the lake. It was very busy so we had to double up with a group and share a campsite since all others were full. Started at 4:40 and, after wandering a bit in the boulder field, reached K2 right at sunrise. Rest of the route was dry and free of snow. Lots of people climbing, about 40ish, and we shared the summit with about ten people. On the way back we decided to go around K2 instead of up and over like we did on the approach. This was the wrong decision and proved to be much harder than just going up and over. Weather remained cloudless for the rest of the day, and it was actually quite warm by the time we got to the parking lot. Forest service is out in force so bring a bear can and camp at a site or they will throw you out. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/5/2016, By: shaunblair
Info: Sunny and dry, all day! Oh, the wind, though....very gusty, estimated 30 to 40 mph at times, made me death grip the knife edge as I scooted across. Did the hike from the trailhead at 3am to avoid camping! 😀

Mountain forecast said there should be great weather all week, it's a good time to attempt. Have fun! 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 8/29/2016, By: coloradodawg
Info: Most of the route up to K2 is free of snow with the exception of a couple of small snow fields that can easily be crossed without traction. Recent snow made the descent from K2 a bit slick so use extra caution on that section. Otherwise, conditions were typical for late summer. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 8/28/2016, By: scottbstein
Info: Ominous conditions up there today with some snow and low cloud coverage, it was eerie going over the knife edge as one side of the ridge was covered in fog. Snow has made a couple areas around K2 very slippery, other than that trail was dry and in good condition. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 8/27/2016, By: flagship47
Info: 11:15 am and noon pics from Mt Sopris of Capitol Peak on 08/27/16. Snow up to summit of Sopris was negligible. Didn't see any significant weather move through the Elks today.